Swims. First impression? Are these the tuxedos of crocs? Can i really go puddle jumping with these and protect my nice shoes (that aren’t heels.)? Love the photography! and web design! (particularly the way you access the gallery with the little stack of images on the far right. And then from there, i actually started reading… The Swims story is an interesting one of Johan, who grew up in norway and never let go of the galoshes that his grandfather had passed down to him… and as he moved to paris and new york and even put in his time at Parson’s he realized that there was a need to develop Swims, the “modern galoshes”. Being a socal girl, i have never gotten quite caught up on the vocabulary of people with “real weather”… apparently Galoshes are “overshoes that slip over the wearer’s indoor footwear but is made of waterproof material to protect the more delicate materials of the shoe as well as the wearer’s foot from cold and damp”.

Fun detail other than great packaging… the “ballerina” version for ladies leaves trees where you step… and see some of my favorite images from their catalog below as well as close ups. And i know these are one of the trend blog post subjects that are everywhere this week, but they were so cool and no one covered the great photography aspect, so i couldn’t resist.

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On unexpected things ~ i’ve been having a lot of conversations with mid-20 something guys about high priced watches, particularly those who didn’t grow up with them, and the desperate coveting of high end watches as status symbols, followed by the implication that that watch would get them some. And i’ve been mocking them all, but after this weekend - OK, i take it back, maybe the watch thing *can* work. The unexpected stand out from this Oakley weekend is definitely the Oakley Minute Machine. It caused some amusing drama at the after party, and perhaps that IS the best marketing strategy, after all that now even i find myself curious about it… well the Oakley Minute Machine Diamond Dial Edition ($3,500) anyhow (left watch)… although the Black face Titanium Edition ($1,195) is tempting too (right watch)… then there is the Unobtanium Edition($995).

I’ve been off t-shirts lately, we’ve been inunddated with them to the point that our closets can no longer handle it and its getting pretty wasteful! BUT the trend of in your face, bold, large fonts on tees to state your cause of the moment has been coming back in a huge way, and there are some pretty nice options out there. (Or perhaps i’ve just been more conscious of them since the Social Atelier launch) - I just noticed these Katharine Hamnett ones in Domino and the “MAKE TROUBLE question everything” Chomsky tee is terribly tempting as a holiday gift to everyone i know. Other favorites are Clean Up or Die (with skull!), STOP and THINK, EDUCATION not MISSILES, WORLD PEACE NOW, CHOOSE LIFE, SAVE the Rainforest, SAVE the SEA! Anyhow, you get the point, i don’t need to keep screaming them at you (do i?) ~ and sure its pretty easy to just grab a sharpie and go at a plain tshirt for a similar impact, so i’m really showing you the Katharine Hamnett line because i also love the way she’s shot the shirts on playful models (although a bit borderline AA) and has a sleek website. See more of my faves below!

Toy Me has some fun new pieces ~ from their newest collection the ones that grabbed me are the macho arm, robotino, and the sunglasses to hang your sunglasses from (at first they almost look like the tabs from soda cans)! The mini rayban wayfarers and even aviators are far too cute, definitely a fun add on gift if you’re gifting sunglasses this holiday season. Close ups below… and if Toy Me seems familiar, maybe you’re remember those sweet Hunting Trap bracelets and Tank Cufflinks!

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Oooooh. Robin over at Bittersweets has outdone herself with this latest creation. (For a refresher, we’ve written about Bittersweets a few times over the years, and even featured her opening and also showcased her products in the gallery)… this Vampress is the diamond ring variation of our favorite pairs of Baby Vamp Rings (see my favorite picture from NOTed featuring them after the jump). There is a slight issue with the wearing the two thin bands and keeping the jaws perfectly aligned ~ a minor issue that is instantly solved by having them holding a diamond… so the holidays are around the corner! Buy one for your Vampress.

Ok, this is going to be a bit backwards, but i needed to share this product discovery from the A+R launch dinner before the dinner itself. I’ve long loved the deep resin works of Brooks Salzwedel from my discovery of his belt buckles back in sept of 06 to further exploration of his intriguing and mesmerizing larger resin “paintings” of sorts (and the smaller ones in found tins, etc) in august 07. Well as it turns out, Andy (the A of A+R) loved them as much as i did, and got in touch with Brooks who is also a Silverlaker, and the buckles did amazingly… and as the story goes Rose (the R of A+R) even helped Brooks get into the GenArt Fresh Faces this year, where his work was incredibly well received. So although A+R is stocked with so many things i love (it was like being in the NOTCOT store, if there were a NOTCOT store, it was incredible, but more on that later)… these teeny tiny new necklaces caught my eye. There was that moment of literal - OMG. Are those…?

And here you have it, the latest - in fact the FIRST - pieces of jewelry from Brooks Salzwedel, which Andy and Rose had *just* put out tonight… incredibly intricately cast metal woody pieces with the classic Salzwedel depth in resin. And in those teeny tiny logs, are even tinier little trees, which are truly the coolest things i may have ever seen (and i see a lot.) So if you feel so inclined, these may not make it into any store or website for a while, but you can contact A+R for more info… just please don’t buy these specific little logs! I need to go back and beg them to let me buy them… once they figure out how much they are. Many more images below (please don’t mind my super quick mid-party shots) - including one of the belts gorgeously displayed on logs in the storefront. And click to see more of Brooks Salzwedel’s Buckles and Art.

*Drool* The last thing i expected this sunday night was to find myself desperately wanting to see one of these new North Face 485 Collection coats in person… but i’m pretty blown away by the images and concept so far. The Tagline for the collection is “Artistic design meets extraordinary performance.” This mix of sophistication and multipurpose usage (look good AND survive that freak blizzard) has quite possibly completely raised the bar for coats in my closet.

From their site: “The North Face presents 485, a premier outerwear collection that breathes and urban, artistic spirit into trusted quality and technical construction. Let these sophisticated silhouettes accompany you from extreme outdoor environments to sidewalk settings.” These are a mix of Primaloft, Goretex, and down ~ delivering warmth and comfort while waterproof and breathable… not to mention how sleek they look! More images below. Love the whole jet black with red details for the tag, etc inside… mmm. (oh wait, just noticed on the paragon sports site that they have other colors… their choice in the other colors is making me question things slightly…) via Uncrate

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Why, yes, this IS yet another option for your reusable grocery shopping bag collection. From one of our favorite designers, Alissia Melka Teichroew in collaboration with her husband, Jan Habraken (of WATdesign), and Charles and Marie come this line of canvas shoppers with bags printed on them… So far they have shown off pics of Blue Tote/Pink Clutch and Pink Tote/Blue Clutch, but they just gave us an exclusive sneak peek of the one that is coming in a few weeks… Caramel Tote/Silver Tote! Which certainly seems to be a fun one to shake up some of that supermarket check out monotony.

P.s. does Alissia sound familiar? That might be because you know her inside out martini glass and diamond rings we posted about earlier. And if you’re needing some reminding or a quick catch up on the many reusable bag posts, see below.

We find weird trends pop up on NotCouture ~ or we notice certain types of pieces becoming more and more prevalent and then simply bubbling up in our consciousness…. first there were the Fingerless Gloves, and as the seasons progressed we just kept finding them everywhere! Lately the thing that keeps finding me are these folding sunglasses. I used to think that glasses that folded into strangely compacted slightly flattened cigar cases were reserved for reading glasses… but its been interesting to see that Rayban adapted their 1952 classic Wayfarers to be folding… Ralph Lauren has foldable wrap around sunglasses… and John Varvatos has the hybrid Transitional Readers - yes, folding reading glasses that automatically darken to become sunglasses. And they all have cute cases for these too… although they don’t look all that guy pocket friendly, more purse friendly? Perhaps its for the wives to carry for them. Anyhow, unsure of whether this has been an ancient design trend and i’m just noticing, or if its make a strange comeback. I’m quietly tracking them on NotCouture, so feel free to add any nice ones you find as well.

Click the pics to see more! There has been a lot of accessorizing going on at NotCouture lately ~ particularly shiny and nature inspired things… and as usual, lots of bags ~ particularly totes and slouchy luscious leather ones.

I can’t remember if we were mildly obsessed with saftey pins before NotCouture, or if the safety pin naturally became our logo and then we kept noticing it everywhere. But regardless, saftey pins are truly popping up everywhere lately… i supposed it matches the whole psuedo-punk/glam trend with all the studded burberry, etc. But i was surprised to come across this new collection from Vivienne Westwood Hardcore Diamonds where she takes on safety pins and paperclips.

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Diesel has branched out into fragrances: Fuel For Life… its been hard to miss their campaign this season! Well we are super stoked to be giving you this weekend exclusive about the new Fuel For Life FACTORY! Where you can use their flashy online customizer to design your own zippered leather jacket for your bottle of Fuel For Life. With a range of colored leathers and logos for the front and back and even the zipper pull leathers to customize… you have quite a few choices to make. And only 20,000 of these bottles will be produced, so starting on Monday, you’ll have your chance to build and buy your own, but until then you can explore the current Fuel For Life site with interactive experiences to keep you busy and ads to watch until then. (Screenshots of all below!)

Looks like American Apparel has started branching out on their bags… latest additions which nicely complement the nylon duffels (perfect lightweight gym/beach bags all summer, but not so great for screen printing… i tried a silver pirate bronto on my green one, its barely there anymore) ~ these bags now come in a sleek black vinyl. Perfect for fall/winter perhaps? Not sure how they feel in person ~ but intrigued by the images online… also doesn’t vinyl tend to have a certain less than appealing scent often? Well they have a laptop bag, duffle, makeup bag and (shown below).